BJP and Congress target 50 seats in Himachal, but anti-incumbency may take a toll on the Grand Old Party

After the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, it’s time for the saffron party to set its sights on the hills of Himachal Pradesh. Congress ruled Himachal will go to polls in December. With a target of 50+ in the 68-seat assembly, the BJP’s first priority is to undo the wrongs of 2012. Says state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti: “In the 2012 assembly elections, there was some confusion among the voters on who to vote for; some anti-incumbency was also there (BJP was in power till 2012). But we haven’t lost a day since then.” The three-time MLA from Una says that those early efforts paid rich dividends in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when the BJP swept all four seats. The assembly by-elections, first in Sujanpur and then Bhoranj, were also a saffron wash. “Our aim is to oust the Congress and our workers are working really hard,” Satti told ET Magazine. Political circles are abuzz about the return of Union Health Minister JP Nadda — a three-time MLA from Himachal Pradesh — to state politics. Nadda was not available for comment. Congress, for its part, insists that although it lost the by-elections, it hasn’t lost ground. “Our tally of 36 hasn’t come down since 2012,” says state Congress president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. BJP won 26 seats in 2012. The Grand Old Party’s Achilles heel may well be five-time CM Virbhadra Singh who is mired in a disproportionate assets case. “We do not deny anti-incumbency, but it is not as high as being portrayed by the BJP,” says Congress’ Sukhu. The Congress too has a target of 50+. This may well be a 50:50 tussle of a different kind.

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